Orloff and his Wife

ant Petúnnikoff's old and filthy house, opening on the narrow court-yard encumbered with various utensils,

ther Feast-days. Sunday begins with sunset on Saturday, in the Holy Catholic Orthodox Church of the East, and

devil!" the woman cried

plied a man'

. I'll give it to

! You will

ill me-but

li-ie, you

as murdered me

you le

wild beast, be

.. I won't do i

ho ground paint whole days together in one of the small sheds in the court-yard,[Pg 4] flew headl

e are fighting! My eye! what

hanging down his shaggy, saucy head, with its bold, thin face streaked with ochre and reddish-brown paint, he gazed down with eager eyes into the dark, damp hole, wh

.." warned the wo

and soothed her confidently,

d, sighs, piercing screams, the strained groan

audience which had gathered around him-tailors, messenger of the courts Levtchénko, Kislyakóff the accordeon-player, and others who were fond

ng on now? What's

gainst the floor," reported Sénka, curling up voluptu

g

to see all the details of the fight for themselves; and although they had long known the wa

are the diminutives o

il! Has he sm

he keeps on banking her!" repo

ied the women.-"Akh, t

dged more

'll beat her to d

layer announced in

ne of these days he'll get tired of cutting up in this

ball from the windows, to one side, to a nook where he took up another post of obser

he eye of the savage shoemaker; now that the battle was over, he had l

ands behind his back, he walked slowly to an old carrier's sledge, which lay with runners upward, against the wall of the wood-shed. Sometimes he whistled valiantly as he did so, and stared about in all directions exactly as though he had the intention of challenging the entire population of the Petúnnikoff house to a fight. Then he seated himself on the run

arge, cartilaginous nose; from beneath them gazed black eyes which always blazed uneasily. His curly hair, tangled in front, fell behind over a sinewy, light-brown neck. Of medium stature, and somewhat roun

rom all the windows in both stories of the house which opened on the court-yard, poured songs and scolding; from time to time someo

e pot-house. From above, from the second story, tailors crept out into the court-a half-clad, consumptive and bow-legged lot of men-and began to make fun of the Kostromá painters for their mode of speech, which rattled about like peas. The whole court was filled with

ows of large, strong, yellow teeth. Within him something dark and formless was springing up, red, turbid spots swam before his eyes, grief and a thirst for vódka sucked at his entrails. He knew that he would fee

neither could he go home to wash and dress himself. There, on the floor, lay his

l further augmented his hatred toward her, because, along with this consciousness a dark, evil feeling was seething in his soul, and it was more powerful than the consciousness. Everything within him was heavy and

oots. Under his arm is his accordeon in a green bag, the ends of his small black mustache are twisted into arrows, his cap is set dashingly on one side, and his whole co

, Grísha,[3] on

well-scra-a-

footno

ad already heard it fifty times, and besides, the accordeon-player d

vna?"-asked Kislyakóff, halting for

to go where the road for all of us lies.... Y

" said Orlóff, witho

and suffer

g, Orlóff went

where her husband had been sitting not long before. Her appearance surprised no one-they had got used to it, and everybody knew that there she would sit until Grísha, intoxicated and in a repentant mood, should make his appearance from the dram-shop. She came out into the court, because it was suffocating in

rth, Matréna had

d so was Levtchénko, a mustached non-commissioned officer on the retired list, an argumentative and seda

g each other

aid Matréna, in a hosti

Russian, and after that, neither o

g

vily, and there was a

scores have you to settle?"-the L

r...." said Matré

ted Levtchénko, and he even nodded his h

nose into my business for?" a

orm "Orlóva," minus all prefix, which is not at all disrespectf

d Grísha are a well-matched pair! He ought to give you a good drubbing with a club every d

ct that the Little Russian was not making up to her for nothing, and she was angry with him, with him and with all people who intruded themselves on othe

up under his feet fro

e confided to Levtchénko, in an undertone, with a

Little Russian, laughing behind his mustache. He was fond of impudent Tchízhik, and listened

"Maxím the painter tried it, and bang! she let fly such a slap in the face at him! I heard it

eagerly absorbed, like a sponge, the dirt of the life around him, and on his brow

and surrounded by lofty roofs, so that the court seemed to be a deep pit, when one looked up out of it. In

between it and the wall a narrow passage led into a square space, lighted by two windows, which opened on the court-yard. The light fell through them into the cellar in slanting, turbid streaks, and the atmosphere in the room was damp,[Pg 12] dull, dead life pulsated somewhere, tar away, up above, but only faint, ill-defined sounds of it were wafted hither, and fell, together with t

ld newspapers were stuck to the plaster; melancholy flies flitted about everywhere, buzzing tiresomely, and the little

heat of battle, and was covered all over with patches of lead. While the samovár was coming to a boil, she put the room in order, went to the shop,[5] then roused her husband; h

send, every morning, to the shops f

fter tea, they discussed their dinner. In winter, when it was necessary to eat more, this was a tolerably interesting question; in summer, from economy, they heated the oven only on feast-days, and not always then, feeding themselves chiefly on a cold dish made of kvas,[6] with th

menting sour rye bread, or rye meal. Sometimes raisins, st

arranged in a swift, plaintive recitative, and now burst impetuously from Grigóry's breast, as though afraid to finish what they wished to say, now, all of a sudden, lengthened out into mournful sighs, or-with a wail of "ekh!"-flew in loud, melancholy strains, through the windows into the court. Matréna sang an accompaniment to her husband, with her soft contralto. The faces of both grew pensive, and sad, Grísha's dark eyes became dimmed with moisture. His wife, absorbed in the sounds, seemed to grow stupid, and sat

Gríshka i

ekh, yea, thou, my t

f! Ekh, and thou,

on thee, gr

rovisations, and, on such occa

ling, like a dog

e instantly flew i

! What can you underst

ed, and now he has t

I-your foreman, I'd like to know, that you m

e blazing with wrath, held her peace, held it for a long time, demonstratively evading a r

ling of fear, lest he should fly[Pg 15] into a passion with her again for this play of hers with him. But, at the same time, she was incense

interests and impressions which could, occasionally, afford them the possibility of getting a rest from each other, and might have satisfied the natural demand of the human soul-to feel excitement, to think, to glow-in short, to live. For under such conditions of lack of external impressions and interests which lend a zest to life, husb

had not e

ve diverted their attention. Sometimes, on holidays, they went to visit others as poor in spirit as themselves, and sometimes visitors came to see them, ate, drank and, frequently-fought. And t

es Grís

e will of God ... there's no gainsaying that! I learned my trade ... and why? Weren't there shoemakers enough without me? Well, all right, I'm a shoemaker, and what then? What satisfaction is there for me in that?... I sit in a pit and sew...

then, she begged him not to utter such words, because they were contrary to God, Who must know how to arran

reep into your head. Other folks live,-they don't complain, and they hoard up a little pile of mone

hat is my only joy? Others! How many such successful folks do you know? And was I like that[Pg 17] before my marriag

miable,-the other people were the fruit of her imagination,-and he had not been like that before his ma

really a burden to

for herself, and for him; she went up to him, and caressingly,

urlily, and pretended that he wished to thrust her from him; but she k

heart, and saying, in a low voice, as though afraid that someone would overhear him: "E-ekh, Mótrya![7] A?, a?, how ill you and I live to

diminutive for M

sfy him, and straining his wife t

eace and sighed, but sometimes in such fair moments as these, she recalled the[Pg 18] undeserve

yet more ardently, and she poured forth her heart in

hrash you. Do you understand? Well, then, stop your noise! Give you and the dike of you free sway, and

of her quiet tears, and passionate remonstr

rya, that there are times when I can't bear the sight of you?! Just as though I had had a surfeit of you. And, at such times, such a vicious feeling comes

, but the repentant, affe

sed to each other"-she said, not recognizing the fact that they

hould get along better," she sometimes added, with a s

g

ails you? Be

ngs of yours. Yon beat me awfully hard on the body and

to consider at such a time, where and with what he ought to thrash? And I'm not

ef bred in you?"-aske

heart. That's the sort of character I have.... The Little Russian's is-like a stick, but mine is like-a spring; when you press it, it shakes.... I go out, for instance, into the street, I see this thing, that thing, a third thing, but I have nothing myself. This angers me. The Little Russian-he wants nothing, but I get mad, also, because he, that mustached devil, doesn't want anything, while I.... I don't even know what I want ... everything! So there now! Here I sit in a hole, and work al

you marry?"-a

it, to tell the truth. It would have been better to start out as a tramp.... Th

y," blurted out Matréna, on th

ng?"-inquired Grís

my bus

yes lighted up with

I'm not afra

our eye on some

me

where?"-bell

light, stirring up her whole soul, and, instead of extinguishing his jealousy by a couple of words, she proceeded still further to enr

ce at her, and[Pg 21] sighed heavily. He felt ill at ease, his conscience tortured him, he unde

e that sort of character? And you're nice, too.... Instead of pers

the passionate and tender caresses of reconciliation. For this she was ready to pay every day with pain in her bruised

done, forgive me, do!"-He smoothed her hair, kissed her, and gn

neighboring house hid the sky, and in their room

le to express what he so painfully felt.-"It comes from this hole, Mótrya. Wha

uggested Matréna, through sweet tear

a garret, you'll still be in a hole,... it isn't the

g

lected, and

rm ourselves ... we shall

ut it doesn't look like reform with us.... The

shorter and shorter, and here, at last, every Saturday, Gríshka began from

nd go to meet Lysy in the dram-shop...

up her eyes stran

on holding your tongue-it'll be bette

s of his intention to get drunk, was conscious that it pained her to hear this, and perceiving that she maintained a persisten

heir unhappiness, Sénka Tchízhi

which cannot always be reproduced.

in an appearance on Sunday. She, covered[Pg 23] with bruises, greeted him morosely, with taciturnity, but was filled

ication, and she had already supplied herself w

ed with him in gnawings of conscience; often he could not endure their sting, flung aside his work, and swore terrible oat

n the course of time, all this evaporated, and they made peace almost for the sole re

y," said Matrén

e had taken to dropping them, which she had never been in the habit of doing previously, and Gríshka, taking note of this, frowned portentously, and softly gritted his teeth. But, privily from her husband, she was still frequenting the fortune-tellers and sorceresses, bringing back from t

black thoughts within her, and she had ever less and less of pity for this man who, three years

ived on, day after day-lived on, fatally anticipating something w

or which led into their cheerless abode. Orlóff sprang from his seat and, with a glance of reproachful alarm at his wife, as he endeavored to reconstruct in

lace,-" the policema

he policeman stood aside, and into the Orlóffs' room there stepped briskly a student, in a white duck coat, cap in hand, wi

se.-"I have the honor to introduce myself-the sanitary officer! I have come to in

he fellow's face was so healthy, rosy, kindly, covered on cheeks and chin with golden-brown down. It smiled incessa

ould advise you, aunty, to wash it out very often, and also to sprinkle unslaked lime in the corners, to purify the air ... and lime is also good as a remedy

bstractedly, surveying him in silence. Grigóry also smiled,

ceremony ... it's a matter of health, and if there's anything out of order, we

ormation, with a laugh.-"But if I don't look just as I should ... it's only

g

t you, my good man, almost got drunk ye

, covering her mouth with her apron. The student himself laughed the most loudly and merrily of all, and he also stopped sooner than the rest. And when

, but just at present, it would be better to refrain from liquor altogether

ner, where hung the wash-basin, and where stood a wash-trough[9] filled with slops, and he even bent down and smelled under the stove, to see what the odor was like. His voice broke, every now and then, from bass notes into tenor notes, and the simple words of his remarks seem

water trickles through a spout or faucet, on the hands-"running" water being regarded as the only clean water. T

le of curiosity. Matréna sniffed from tim

masons will give you all you need for about five kopéks. And as for you, good man, if you can't be moderate in yo

ng as mementos of his laughing eyes abashed and sati

s yet unable to formulate the impression left by this unexpecte

frank, and immediately-'here now,-here I am!'-Lime ... is that injurious? Citric acid ... what's that? Simply acid, and nothing more! But the chief point is-cleanliness everywhere, in the air, and on the floor, and in the slop-bucket.... Is it possible to poison a man

up of vódka from the bottle, which she pro

she said, smiling at the remembrance of the student.-"But other fellows, the re

, and again, by whom?

y poor folks, that an order has been issued-to poison th

says

ainters' cook said so, and a

to Siberia-there's plenty of room for them all there! Or to some uninhabited islands.... And after they had exiled them, they would have ordered them to work there. Work and pay your taxes ... understand? There's a clearing-out[Pg 29] for you, and a very profitable one, to boot.... Because an uninhabited island will yield no revenue, if it isn't settled with people. And revenue is the first thing to the public tr

ide of the breast?' Matréna obstinately maintained that it was on the right side, her husband said-on the left, and twice cursed her stoutly, but remembering in season, that his wife had not turned the bottle bottom upward when she poured the vódk

rities, also, of course.... Akh, deuce take him! Do you understand, Matréna, they're looking after us there, my dear. That's evident at once....[Pg 30] They want to keep us sound, and nothing more, nor less .... That's all nonsense about killing us off ... old wives' tales....

ed Matréna,-"I believe he only said that for the sake of frig

devil! What did he call those little bugs? It isn't a cock and bull story at all, but ... why,

ingenuous enthusiasm with which children communicate to one another their first experiences and t

stood the fat cook of the painters, and her face, which wa

culiar noise with her thick, red lips.-"We've got the cholera in the cou

lying, aren't you

g

the slop-bucket last nigh

ages. I'm going away.... I'll go, and

nquired Grigóry,

st evening, do you hear, and he was seized in the night.... And it took him

accordeon-player. Such a jolly, dashing young fellow, and he had walked through the court like a pea

shrieked

why, it's

ng of, my good man,

with shirt-collar unbuttoned, went toward the door. His wife clutched him by the shoulder, f

ay!"-he roared, and went out, afte

one, out of all the denizens of the house, was going to the sick accordeon-player. This[Pg 32] satisfaction was still further augmented when he perceived that the tailors were watching him from the second

ck thus formed, and as was his wont, was taking his observations, captivat

irty little face, rendered still more peaked than usual by the impressions he had undergone.-"And

in silence to Tchízhik, endeavoring to peer, with, o

some water to drink, Uncle

lmost to the point of a nervous tremor, and felt some

k, and boldly flinging the door wide open, he h

ed in his best, lay with his breast on the table, which he was clutching tightly wit

g

apathetically, as though his voic

tiously over the floor, he advanced to him,

. did you overwork last night, pray?"-he surveyed Kislya

ead, horrible face, and only the slow movement of the jaws showed that it was still alive. Kislyakóff's motionless eyes stared long at Grigóry's face, and their dead gaze put the latter in a fright. Feeling his ribs with his hands, for some reason or other, Orlóff stood three paces distant from the sick man, and felt

accordeon-player's gray face began to move in a strange way, his lips, cove

m ... dy

d and breast, like three dull blows. With a senseless grimace on his countenance, he turned toward

off's well ... they wouldn't

nto a corner, reappeared, and handing

u'll have it too,... now it'll run the rounds, as it did in the su

om the pail, and swallowed it at one gulp

m ... dy

ith swift darts, feeling himself

ccordeon-player, moving himself

k man noisily drawing in the water; then he heard Tchízhik propose that they should undress Kislyakóff, and put him to bed, then the voice of the painters' coo

: a tea-glass full-two spoonfuls of lamp-

g

ested olive-oil with the brine

me memory. He rubbed his brow hard, as though endeavoring to increase the brilliancy of the light,

's run off to the hospital,"-the cook commente

r, gazed with widely opened eyes, a

ng her white lips,-"Grigóry won't fall ill of tha

e. Over all faces the same, identical sentiments flitted in turn: excitement, which was succeeded by hopeless dejection, and something evil, which now and then made way for a

street with the dull hum of their talk, and from time to time a violent oath, launched a

. that's

6] a white canvas cover which was driven by a surly man all

t of th

people, who sprang aside in

ather subdued the high-strung mood of the spectators,-al

back on the nape of his neck, the perspiration streamed down his forehead in large drops, he wore a long mantle, of dazzling whit

t the public, which had assembled in a little niche by the gate, and had greeted h

aid, in a

f ... you're jus

uieter and had a tinge of

. he'll give

in the crowd, as

oup that your belly wi

but obscured by a timorous suspicion, it wa

at's the meaning of that?"-very significantly inquired a man wi

he countenances of the public darkened agai

e bring

óff! Akh,

he af

o him? He's

ell the doctor I shall be there soon. Well, sir, Mr. Orlóff, I request that you will help me to exterminate t

glance around him, and feeling a

I," announ

and returned just in the nick of time to offer his se

re you

he house-painters...

afraid of t

rise.-"The idea! I'm ...

ch was lying on the ground, and rolling himself to and fro on it, he began to say that it was

pproached this group, as cautiously as cats approach sparrows. A small, dense ring of men, about ten in number, formed around the student, and this inspired him. Standing in the centre of these peo

nliness of the body, and of the air which yo

.-"One must pray to Saint Varvára the mar

n the air, but still, they die to

e of the student, pondering something deeply the w

his eyes sparkling, blazing like coals,-"now that Mítry Pávlovitch is

you imp!" Orlóf

dow of the accordeon-player's little room, sear

he student enu

g

en the Orlóffs sat down to drink tea, M

with the student a

ething, and different from usual, and, without replyin

ul and taciturn, had thrown himself down on the bed, and there he had lain, face upward, until tea-time, never uttering a single word all that time, although his wife had ma

suspect that her husband had become interested in something new, she was afraid of some

don't feel

uth, wiped his mustache with his hand, pushed his empty glass o

student to the ba

éna, and tremblingly, with lowered voice,

ns, counting in ou

el

he score.... They can wa

se? ... They've put some others in there, to justify

ack of education and stupidity-that's all! You're enough to kill a man with your ignorance.... You can

education?"-inquired Matr

the court-yard. The semi-twilight, the screeching of the samovár, and the smells-everything in the room became densely merged with one another, forming around the Orlóffs a setting which resembled a nightmare, while the dark maw of the oven stared at the husband and wife exactly as tho

ea, but nibble at it, and thus sweeten their mouths, an inelegant and

g

them in a motherly way..? and all the rest of it.... So they do. Please to understand: you live along upon the earth, and not even one devil would take the trouble to spit on you, much less call in now and then to inquire-what and how and, in general,... what your life is like, that is to say, whether it suits you, or whether it is the right sor

ute accuracy, that something new concerning her was also in progress in Grigóry's mind. Convinced of this, she wished to learn, as pro

than you do,"-said she, when he had finished

rtive glance at her, and then, after a pa

g

: 'go ahead, and meet it half way! Fate is against you-but you can oppose it,-who'll get the upper hand? It's war! That's all there is to say about it....' So, what now? I'm going to enter the barracks as an orderly-and that's the end of it! Understand? I'm going to walk straight into its maw.-You may swallow me, but I'll make a play with my

at him with an expression of uneasiness, but by the time he

vise you to do that

can judge,"-for some reason,

se you to separate fro

generally done, but there are different sorts of women.[Pg 43] Matréna, was one of the dangerous sort. One must keep her directly under his eyes. Settli

hat very significant and purely feminine smile, which is capable

felt this, but, being loath to betray himself, out

ches...." and he pricked up his ears,

th that exasperating smi

be?" inquired Grig

said Matréna, indiffe

'll damage you!" Orlóff boiled up

u ... don't go...."

me off, I know!" excl

lf under the influence of a very venomous thought, as it appeared to him, which flashed through his brain. He even gave vent to a malicious smile. "I know[Pg 44] you'd like t

his wife dissatisfied with her policy, disconcerted by his threats, and with a growing feelin

Heaven! All-Holy

e principal wall of the neighboring house opposite her windows, the setting sun cast a reddish spot; reflected from the white wall, it penetrated into the room, and the edge of the glass sugar-bowl which stood i

he decided that he was in good spirits. He swore at the darkness in the room, called to hi

mething to tell you?"-

what

g to take a p

asked, with t

g

s with me!" announce

e had not expected this, and thrust her away. She was pretending ... she didn't want to be with

ed roughly and suspiciously, conscious

m!" she repl

ce! I k

Eruslán the

ury Russian fairy-tale, after the P

l you ... or look

darling lit

the matter wit

tamed him a little,

're not

e together," she

to hear this.

e little

he pinched her side so

thing activity which had seized them in its grasp.[Pg 46] Awkward, unable to comprehend orders, overwhelmed by impressions, they immediately lost their heads, and although they incessantly ran hither and thither, in the effort to wor

his right eyebrow, ordered Grigóry to assist one of the patients to sit down in the bath-tub,

fellow, he'll fit into the bath-tub

nt fellow, laughed with all his might, and said h

nd gave them white aprons. This doctor's voice was soft, he spoke rapidly; he took a great liking to the married pair, but half an hour later they had forgotten all his instructions, overwhelmed with the stormy life of the barracks. All about them flitted people in white, orders were issued, caught on the fly by the orderlies, the sick

ll ill.... But a few hours passed, and Grigóry, invaded by the breath of energy everywhere disseminated, pricked up his ears, and became permeated with a mig

limate!" shout

commanded a scraggy little medical

. There, that's the way ... you understand.... So-o, so-o.... M

arked student gave Grigóry ord

r patient!" the news pa

o and carr

the pressure of the mass of impressions which he underwent every moment. The green spots under the clouded eyes on earth-colored faces, bones which seemed to have been sharpened by the disease,

limpse of his wife; she had grown thin, and her face was gray and abst

how g

in reply, and sil

forcing his wife to come hither, to such filthy work. She would fall ill of

wash your hands of

asked, teasingly, display

mean they were, those women! But he did not succeed in saying anything to her

eath contorted brows, on the clear, hot sky. Grigóry gazed at him with dull terror in his heart: The day before yesterday he had seen that policeman at his post, and had even sworn a

g

ch a dirty disease? He gazed down upon the policeman from above, and pitied him. What would become of his children ...

ft hand of the corpse slowly moved and straightened itself out. At the same moment

ick!"-he said in a whisper to the orderly who was carrying the corpse with him. T

himself in order for the coffin? You see how it has twisted him up? H

moving...." pr

speeches about a dead body? That signifies a riot, brother ... that's what it is! Understand? In other words, hold your tongue, and don't utter a syllable to anyone about his moving,-they're all like that. Otherwise, the sow will tell it to the boar-pig, and the b

favorite form of bread, particu

leisurely gait had a sob

nd all the rest-everything is just as it should be. We shall all be corpses, my boy; it's the commonest thing in li

replied

swallow a little of it." They went to the pit, round the corner of the barracks, took a

dka. They're strict here about vódka. F

sed to things here?

bout the ambulance-corps and the sisters of mercy? I watched them during the Turkish campaign. I was at[Pg 51] Adragan and Kars. Well, my boy, they're purer than we are, we soldiers and people in general. We fight, we have guns, bullets, bayonets; but they-they walk ab

a good swallow of vódka, Orló

k,"-he exhorted himself, as he rubbed a sick man's legs. S

! O?, my d

meone

lieves me! Christ reward you,-I can feel! Pe

ine!" shouted Do

lligent power was acting regularly. But he shuddered, nevertheless, when he recalled the policeman, and cast a furtive glance through the window of the barracks into the yard. He believed that the policeman was dead, but still there was an element

g

ere boiling in his brain. He recalled his wife: how was she getting on yonder? Sometimes with this recollection mingled a transitory desi

oman! You'll dry up, never fear....

such a life. This objectiveness was generally converted into certainty during the period of his suspicions. Then he would ask himself: why had he found it necessary to crawl out of his cellar into this boiling cauldron?-and he wondered at himself. But all these thoughts worked round and round, somewhere deep within him, and were fenced off, as it were, fro

ry's shop. There was a ringing in his head, there was a pain under his shoulder-blades, and his legs ached with the gnawing pangs of fatigue. He no longer thought of anything, or wan

barracks were sitting. The doctor and Matréna were executing the "Russian Dance" in the middle of the hall, while he himself was playing the accordeon and laughing heartily, be

ceman made his appea

but you dragged me out to the dead-house! Come along with me, now! Get up!" Seized with a fit of trembling, all bathed in perspirat

take cold in your bowels,-you'll take to your cot, and the first you know, you'll die.... It's not right, my friend,-you have a place in the barracks

red,..." mut

care of your-self-it is a dangerou

e barracks, in silence drank some sort of medicine out of a wi

a while!" and the doctor began to move his lon

and suddenly ran after

you humbl

and the do

... and ... you said I was a valuable man ... and, altogether, I'm most si-sincerely grateful to you!"

t will not be for me, but for the patients. We must wrest a man from the disease, tear him out of its paws,-do you

easing sensation of warmth in his bowels. He felt joyful, a

g

eard that conversation. He must tell her to-morrow.... That

ea, Grísha," his wife

d at him. She was so calm and fresh, with her ha

time, he reflected that the other men in the ba

I have my own tea;-where am

e,"-she proposed, gazing

es aside and said, cu

lay down on his cot ag

t sorry for her, and wanted to do something which would please her. Should he buy something sweet to eat with

n. On the grass, under the windows, the dew was still glistening, far away on the horizon in the nebulous rose-colored morning mist stood[Pg

eyes. They called her Felitzáta Egórovna; she was unmarried, the daughter of a Collegiate Assessor, and could not drink tea made with water from the hospital boiler, but always boiled her own samovár.

tired yesterday?" O

I couldn't understand what was said to me, and the first I knew, I was lying at full length on the floor,

e you s

sick p

people are

over to her husband, and whispered to him in affright:-"th

death. I was carrying him to the dead-house, and he gave su-uch a flourish with his[Pg 57] left hand ... I hardly managed to get ou

nse of green plain and blue sky. And something else pleased him, also,-not exactly his wife, nor yet himself. T

there is a cause for my doing so. In the first place, there are the peo

as he again exerted his fancy, unconsciously to hi

tand that, and then-go ahead and give it what it can't endure! Doctor Váshtchenko says to me: 'you're a valuable man in this matter, Orlóff,' says he. 'Don't get scared,' says he; 'and drive it up from the patient's legs into his belly, and there,' says he, 'I

re a great resemblance to his old self, the Grísha[Pg 58] w

r, a fa-at woman with spectacles, and then the female medical students. They're nice

ight, satisfied?"-asked Grigóry, who

irty-eight a month![13] We're lodged and fed! That means, that if people keep on getting sick until the

an half that amount i

a pause, he exclaimed with the pathos of hope, as he slapped his wife on the sh

minutive of Mat

shed al

nly stop dr

your leather, your phiz to your life.... With a

ht only happen!"-sigh

now, h

henka

ha, Gríshka), of Grigóry, in

g

each other, inspired by hope, ready to work unt

also imbibed wrath against fat-faced Prónin, with whom he had been inclined to strike up a friendship and to chat, "according to his soul." At the same time, he was embittered by the plain desire of his fellow-workers to do him some injury.-"Ekh, the rascals!" he exclaimed to himself, and quietly gritted his tee

vódka. Catching the meaning of the medical staff at half a word, always amiable and talkative, understanding how to entertain the patients, he became more and more of a favorite with the doctors and the medical students, and thus, under the[Pg 60] combined influence of all the impressions of his new mode of existence, a strange, exalted mood was formed within him. He felt himself to be a man of special qualities. In him beat the desire to do something which should attract to

nce from his fellow-orderlies, nursing the very dirtiest of the patients, behaving in a daring sort of way in regard to the possibility of contagion, and handling the dead with a simplicity which sometime

soul to his wife, bec

h it was intersected by a precipitous descent to the river, and along the verge of this precipice ran the highway, along which, at equal distances one from another, stood aged, wide-spreading trees. The sun was setting, and the crosses on the churches of the town, rising above the dark-green of the gardens, flamed in the sky, reflecting sheaves of golden rays, and on the window-panes of the houses which lay on the edge of the to

silence, with pleasure inhaling the p

town, or in the camp?" inquired Mat

and far away from her at such moments. Of late, they had chanced to

ing himself from a dream.-"Well, the devil take that band! You ju

sked tremulously, l

t is to say, if this cholera, for instance, could be transformed into a man ... into an epic hero ... even Ilyá of Muróm himself;[16]-I'd grapple with it; 'Come on, I'll fight thee to the death! Thou art a power, and I, Gríshka Orlóff, am a power also,-now

heroes (bogatyry) see: "The Epic Songs of Russi

face burned, and

whispered Matréna, nes

little in addition.... Why, an old man fell ill lately, and so Doctor Váshtchenko hammered away at him for four days, and never went home once the whole time.... Money doesn't count in such a case; pity is the cause. He's sorry for people-well, and so he doesn't spare himself ... for whose sake, you ask? For[Pg 63] everybody's sake ... for the sake of Míshka úsoff,... Míshka's proper place is in jail, for everyb

d hopelessly, and ag

n his words she plainly felt the great passion of his longing, which she did not understand, because

branches of the birch-trees, the little fir-trees, rocked, rocked to and fro,-the whole ravine became filled with anxious, timorous whispering, and it seemed as though someone who was tenderly beloved and guarded by the trees had fallen asleep in the ravine, beneath their canopy, and they were whispering together about him very, ve

ut his neck, she laid her head on

s as though it were the good time ... after our wedding,... you and I were living along ... you never utte

hing, if you want it,"-jested Grigóry affectionately, feelin

ternal-the caress of a father for a grown-up child. Matréna did in fact resemble a child: s

one!"-she

ch were new both to his wife and to hims

, we hardly knew people at all. I've got out of the pit, and have recovered my sight. I was like a blind man as regards life. And[Pg 65] now I understand that a wife, anyhow, is a man's closest friend in life. Because people are snakes and reptiles, to tell the truth.... They're always tr

appiness, and replied to

!" he whispered, and

were conscious of their briny taste. And for a long time

ountless swarms of stars, looked down upon the earth with triumph

d himself in his wife's room confused and surly over something. Felitzáta was not feeling well, Matréna was alone in

ou like that?

seated himself on a chair, and drew toward

it?" persis

g

of myself.... There's no use in that. You women always try to get a man into your hands, on such occasions ... so you do.... Only

k at his wife. Matréna never took her eyes from his

ou kissed and caressed me? What does this mean? It insults me to hear it ... it is very bitter, you're brea

but in her tone resounded pain

ife it was! It makes me sick even to think of it. And now that we've got out of it-I feel afraid of something. Everything changed so sud

réna gravely.-"Only don't feel sor

hinking that we shan't come to anything, after all. And our former life was not flowery, and my pre

aughed co

ime to worry a

-: that's the wonder. And besides, in general, I feel ... not exactly ashamed of

's a pleasant life, though there's a lot of work; all the doctors are fond of you, and

.... That means, that they are not my equals ... and I'm not on a level with them, I feel that.... They cured Míshka úsoff, and rejoiced at it.... And I don't understand that. On the whole, why feel glad that a man has recovered? His lif

ck woman begins to mend, and, oh, Lord, what goings on! And when a poor woman gets her discharge, they give her adv

... Nothing less...." Orlóff shrugged his shoulders,

d, that people are entirely worthy of compassion. Bending toward him, and gazing into his face with affect

ks! Where does s

era, if you had the power. But what for? Whom does it annoy? People, not

enly burst

? Akh, you shrewd creature,-make the most of it! People die, and I

ept himself had heard Matréna's speech. "She spoke cleverly! A woman, a woman, and yet she understands something, too." And

d greater. He could not, of course, narrate as[Pg 69] a whole what was taking place within him, for the greater part of his

hat Fate was playing with him, had blown him out of his place, and was now carrying him through the air like a feather. He began to feel sorry for himself, and went to his wife. Sometimes he did not wish to do this, considering that frankness toward her would lower him in her eyes, but he went, nevertheless. He arrived gloomy, and now in a vicious, again in a sceptical mood,

he did not think, she did not reason, but when she recalled her former life, in the cellar, in the narrow circle of cares for her husband and her housekeeping, she involuntarily compared the past with the present, and the gloomy picture of the cellar-existence[Pg 70]

question her about her life, and Matréna, as she was willingly a

aughing at?" as

ou will believe it, my dear madam,-I did not understand it

though Grigóry were her debtor. At times, when she was talking with him, she assumed a patronizing tone, for he often inspired her with pity by his uneasy speeches. But, nevertheless, she was sometimes seized

n the gray life of half-fed poverty, a life of exploiting others, to the end completely absorbed in the pursuit of the kopék, but they had been sa

g

court-yard of the barracks, and Prónin took out of it a little

eet, again," the driver reported, in ans

n distress,-"akh, oh, Lord! Sén

y-bird. Tchízhik-a little

the stretcher, and slowly rolled his eyes up under his brow, in or

rangely alarmed at the sight of that dirty little boy, in the throes of the disease.-"Why did it sei

reply, and shrugg

a cot, and began to remove his rags, streak

hot water immediately ..." promi

his little head

, what an accordeon it is! I hid it ... and then my[Pg 72] belly began to ache.... So.... That means, that this is for my sin.... It's hanging on the wall, under the stairs ... and I piled woo

not retain life in it, and in the evening, Orlóff carried him on the stretcher to

but he did not succeed. Orlóff went away overwhelmed, mournful, bea

upon him, Orlóff, one of these days, and twist him up in convulsions.... And that would be the end of him. He grew frightened, and, along with this feeling, he was invaded by a sense of loneliness. He wanted to discuss all this with some clever man. More than once, h

] self in the corner of the room, but the samovár was already

oulders. The samovár bubbled away, splashing water over; Matréna snorted; orderlies ran swiftly

covered with the same sort of sticky sweat as Tchízhik, when the latter was writh

is de

ed before God!"[17] said Matréna prayerfully, and then she be

for ecclesiastics, one for laymen, which undergoes certain changes if the burial takes place at Easter-tide (making the third), and one for children

or him," sig

a dreadf

rphan ... he would have got used to us, and[Pg 74] have taken the place of a son to us.... For, you see, we have no children.... No.... You're so healthy, yet you don't bear any children.... You had one, and that was the end of it. Ekh, you woman! If we had some squalling little brats, you'd see we shouldn't f

s head drooping low. Matréna stood before him and

ren.... What's the meaning of it? Why? Ye-es ... a man t

... do you hear? Don't you dare! You drink-because you choose to, out of self-indulgence, because you

his wife, and did not recognize her. Never before had he beheld her so infuriated, never had

antly, clutching the seat of his chair wi

g

nnot endure! I don't bear you children, don't I? And I won't! I can't an

" her husban

your ugly phiz isn't ashamed to look me in the face? ... For you are a murderer! you have killed your children, killed them yourself! and now you reproach me because I don't bear any.... I have endured everything from you, I have forgiven you for everything,-but those words I will never forgive, to all eternity! When I am dying,-I'll call that to mind! Don't you understand that you are to blame yourself, that you have destr

ds leaped from her mouth

g

his woman, who was a stranger to him, and he was afraid of her ... afraid that she would clutch him by the throat and strangle him. Precisely that was what her terrible eyes, blazing with wrath, promised him. She was twice as str

my peace ... because ... I love you ... but your reproaches I cannot bear!... My strength is exh

th a snarl. "You're outrageous! Have you f

re in vile language, thrust the man aside, and rushed out into the fields. And Matréna, after standing still in the middle of the room for a

elds with shadows, peered curiously into the windows of

g

anes and the walls of the barracks-the forerunner of the in

gloomy, stern, her teeth were tightly clenched, her cheek-bones stood out prominently, and in her eyes gleamed both terror and sadness. And the rain still rattled against the walls and the window-panes; it seemed as though it were whispering something wea

ent day, and so resemble the color of a knife, which has been long in use, and has lost the gleam of its polish. But still M

en now? What wi

e the windows, and an aching pain

ill hap

ccustomed to this dream, and she banished from her a menacing foreboding. And at the same time, the consciousness flashed across her, that if this did happen-if Grigóry should take to drink again, she could no longer live with him. She saw him diff

O Lord!... It's just as though

our passed by. Day dawned. A heavy fog was swirling over the

! Time to go

ed, washed herself in haste, and went to the barracks, feeling weak and half ill. In the barracks s

to be ill?" one of th

nothin

ceremony! you know, we can

on who was kind, but still a stranger to her, nevertheless. And summoning up, from the depths

rel with my husband ...[Pg 79] It will

ghed the doctor, who

strained herself, and only pressed her lips tightly together, and passed her hand over her throat, a

the barracks, a waggon was moving,-they must be bringing a sick person in it. Fine rain was sifting down from the gray storm-clouds. Noth

?"-And her heart beat

every time the sound of footsteps in the corridor made her shu

udder, and did not rise, for she felt as though the autumnal storm-clou

was streaming with water. His face was red, his eyes were dim, and his lips were stretched in a broad, stupid smile. As h

she said

his head stupidl

to have me bow d

de no

ng all the while: am I guilty toward you or not? It turns out-th

dor of vódka which emanated from him,

chance while I'm peaceable...." said Grigóry, rais

Matréna, with a sigh.

alking and walking and thinking.... I've done a

his finger, laughing

n't you

talk wi

n't? Wh

lared up, and his

e yesterday ... well, and now I'm ask

ted. Matréna knew what that meant, and the past rose up before her in vivid colors

that you are ... turning into a beast ag

ill you forgive me? What are you thinking about? Do I need it-your forgiveness? I can g

... exclaimed the woman sa

to go away, so that you will remain at libe

oward him, and flourished a knife in her fac

-el

ard those words from her lips before, had heard them more than once-but she had never uttered them in that manner. And the fact that she had turned away from him without fearing the knife, also augmented his amazement and discomfiture. Severa

g

hat is it

sighing.-"And what do you want? Did yo

e did not understand why, but he did know solidly, that it was necessary. Passionate by nature, he had gone through a great deal and had thought a great deal about the matter during those four and twenty hours, and-being an ignorant man-he did not know how to single out of the chaos those feelings which had been aroused by the just accusation boldly hurled at him by his wife. He und

I, in downright earnest ... will drive this into your ribs-and that's the e

tood turned away from him. A feverishly-rapid reckoning up[Pg 83] of all that she had gone throug

ill hap

d on the table, and bending toward his wife.-"Am I to blame, if ... everyt

is head abou

at enough to make a man angry? I understand everything, you see, only it's difficult for me to say that I can't live so ... but how I want to live ... I don't know! They heal those sick people yonder, and give them every attention-... but I'm healthy, and if my soul aches, am I a

t she did not hear his speech well, b

something new and powerful which was springing up withi

g

réna ...-"Why do you hammer away at me?

... that, o

rything should immediately become clear, so to speak, both to him and to her. He comprehende

m. Flourishing his arm, he dealt his wife a blow with his f

ch, hey? Why are you playing

ly sprang to her feet, and, looking straight in her husband's

t aw

ut

t! W

you

n enough of that. I won't

ut

ow you to je

from her a pace-perhaps with the obj

ened, and Doctor Yáshtchenko mad

are you, hey?[Pg 85] What sort of a p

not in the slightest degree abashed at the s

ction between hu

onvulsively in t

f for duty?"-shouted the doctor

his shoulders, an

.. about my o

o was making that r

e.

urselves in domestic fashion ...

ot serfs

nto a dram-shop ... you beasts

ng tide. It seemed to him that he would now do something unusual, and, at the same time, deliver his dark soul from the entanglements which now hel

don't yell.... I know where I

say?"-the astonished d

avage word,[Pg 86] but he did not cool dow

s off! Digest that!... M

." uttered the doctor, with ominous composure.-"

with the sensation that he was leaping off somewhere

order me about. 'Tis a vain dream.... That you cure people, nobody needs to be told.-And what I said about

calmly.... "I'll give you a les

the corridor.... Gríshka screwed

... but if you want to give me a less

l? Say

pread the news: 'My lads! Do you

e doctor opened

disinfection there

amazement in the presence of that young fellow whom he[Pg 87] had known as an industrious, far from unintel

are you chatter

whole being. He understood that this verdict

eyes....-"Now I understand why the like of me never cares ... and it's utterl

announced Ma

th round eyes, and rubbed hi

understand what you are doing?" Gríshka would not, could

ha, ha! You heal the sick ... while the well people die with the

t go wi

and coldly into her husband's face ... Gríshka, despite all his hero

of this.... Here you! Begone! Take yourself off, and be thankful that I haven't

g

d have felt better if they had thrashed him, or even sent him to the police-station.

you, will you go?" Grísh

ed, and bent down a little, as

waved

ole lot of you!-And what the de

khead," began the doc

nk we shall never see each other again ... but perhaps we shall ... that will

moved towar

d the doctor sardonically, when

mournful flashing eyes to him, h

ring up tight ... it has unwound, and has

ck it on his head, bristled up, and went

im pale, with an insensible sort of face.-The doctor no

g

he matter

't kno

where will

ree!"-replied Mr

frowned and

re was alone, in the midst of the wet, gray plain ... The face of Matréna Orlóff turned still paler, she went into a corner, fell on her knees, and began to pray, zeal

g the forehead to th

ide was a well-known man, one of its founders. He conduc

ordinary peasant woman, such a dainty, roguish creature, but of irreproachable conduct.-However, devil take that side of the matter.... Ye-es! So then, as I was saying, that shoemaker is a simple little peasant woman, but how she does work!... how cleverly she teaches her trade

ay Matréna Ivánovna Orlóff narrated to me the sad story of her life. For a while, after she had separated from her husband, he gave h

ctitioners, she learned to read and write, took two orphans out of the asylum to rear,-a girl and a boy,-and was working away, content with herself, with grief and terror recalling her past. She was perfectly devoted to her pupils, understood the significance of her activity in a broad sense, discharged it in

oyed her. He sometimes made his appearance in N., but did not show himself

, and after two or three sittings, he and I became friends. After repeating to me t

e or there below, and ... they'd smash into bits! Ye-es, so I would! Devil take it ... it's tiresome! And akh, how tiresome and narrow life is to me!... I thought, when I got rid of Matréshka:-'Co-ome now, Grínya,[19] sail away into freedom, the anchor's weighed!' On the contrary, it didn't come out that way-the channel was shallow! Stop! And I ran aground.... But I shan't dry up, never fear! I shall display myself! How?-the devil only knows that!... My wife? Well I consign her to all the devils! Does a man like me want a wife?... What should I do with her ... when I feel drawn in all four

riation of Grig

of way as it did so. And the interior of the dram-shop aroused one's imagination of some sort of wild beast's maw, which